Thomas Hobbes, in his seminal 1651 work 'Leviathan', argued that to escape the chaotic 'state of nature'—which he described as solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short—individuals must enter into a social contract. This contract creates an absolute sovereign power, which he metaphorically named the Leviathan, to ensure peace, security, and order among the populace.

In Hobbes's Leviathan, the sovereign is not a party to the social contract. The contract is made among the individuals who agree to surrender their rights to a third party—the sovereign—who remains outside the agreement. Because the sovereign is not a signatory, they cannot breach the contract, which ensures the absolute and irrevocable nature of their authority over the subjects.

Hobbes argued that the social contract creates an absolute sovereign to prevent the 'state of nature,' which he described as a war of all against all. Because the sovereign is the source of law and order, the subjects have surrendered their right to self-governance. Therefore, disobedience is theoretically prohibited, as it would threaten the stability of the commonwealth and return society to chaos.

Hobbes argues that the sovereign is the sole guarantor of order. When the social contract is broken through rebellion, the artificial structure of the state collapses. This dissolution of authority removes the protection of the law, inevitably plunging society back into the 'state of nature,' which Hobbes famously describes as a war of all against all, characterized by fear and insecurity.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Social Contract Theory became the dominant intellectual framework for explaining the state's origin. Thinkers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau utilized the concept of a voluntary agreement among individuals to justify the existence of government and the legitimacy of political authority, marking a shift away from divine right theories.

The Social Contract theory is a philosophical framework that posits that individuals voluntarily surrender some of their natural rights to a central authority in exchange for protection and stability. Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau were the most influential thinkers who contributed to this theory, each offering distinct perspectives on the nature of the contract and the role of the state.

For Hobbes, the sovereign is the beneficiary of the social contract but is not a party to it. Since the sovereign does not make a promise to the people, they remain above the contract, holding absolute authority that cannot be legally challenged or revoked by the subjects.

Michael Oakeshott famously regarded Thomas Hobbes as the greatest political philosopher in the English language. This high estimation is rooted in Hobbes's rigorous philosophical methodology and his ability to construct a coherent, secular theory of the state. The assertion of his greatness and the reasoning regarding his intellectual clarity are logically linked, as his systematic approach remains a cornerstone of modern political thought.

Hobbes was a strict materialist who believed that the universe consists entirely of matter in motion. He posited that matter does not possess inherent agency or spiritual animation; rather, it follows mechanical laws where motion is transferred through physical contact or impact from one body to another. This mechanistic view of the universe forms the foundation of his political theory regarding human behavior.

Thomas Hobbes is best known for his theory of the state, which emphasizes the need for a strong sovereign, or monarch, to maintain order and prevent chaos. His work, Leviathan, argues that life in the absence of a sovereign would be 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.' While he is a social contract theorist, the provided answer key identifies his focus on absolute monarchy as his primary contribution.